Mack remembers Holloway's freshman season when he was instrumental in winning a tournament in the Virgin Islands as he went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in a game against Missouri. He recalls last season's NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game that went into overtime because of Holloway's free throws with no time on the clock.

"The moment never has been too big for him," Mack said. "I think he relishes playing on this stage."

The 10th-seeded Musketeers hope the lights only shine brighter on their program in the upcoming days. They will play No. 3 Baylor in the Sweet 16 on Friday in the Georgia Dome, where they expect Holloway to deliver again and this time carry them to their first Elite Eight since 2008.

The past experiences have taught Holloway, who averages 17.4 points and 4.9 assists per game, not to let the moment intimidate.

"We just can't let the moment get too big," he said. "We've got to try to focus as much as we can."

This is the moment Holloway returned to Xavier to experience. He had considered entering the NBA draft.

The team had to overcome negativity from a regular-season brawl against Cincinnati that tarnished much of the campaign.

"I'm not only happy with the decision I made as far as coming back, I'm about to graduate from Xavier," Holloway said. "We've been through a lot this year. Not only basketball, but the things we've been through is going to help us all out as people later on in life."

The Musketeers are one of our four programs to make four of the last five Sweet 16s and Holloway is an All-American. So they're a little sensitive to the "mid-major" and "Cinderella" labels they hear almost annually.

"Sometimes I'm offended," he said. "We're still, quote, mid-majors, but we continue to have success throughout the major teams that we play against in the power conferences. At this point we're just here to advance. If we're being called the Cinderella, OK. Just time to go out there and play ball the best way we can."